Leaf self-sufficiency sought

Iran has made plans to increase the land it has under tobacco by 500 percent, according to a story in The Financial Tribune citing the Islamic Republic News Agency and quoting the head of the Tobacco Planning and Supervision Center, Ali Asghar Ramzi.

About 20 percent of Iran’s leaf tobacco requirement is domestically produced, and the country plans to become self-sufficient.

Imported tobacco is said to be 30-40 percent more expensive than is local leaf.

Almost 65 percent of the more-than 5,000 tons of tobacco produced in Iran is grown in the northern province of Golestan, according to Hosseinali Qavanlou, head of Golestan’s Industries, Mines and Trade Organization.

Meanwhile, annual cigarette consumption in Iran stands at 55 billion.

The domestic production of cigarettes reached 45 billion in the most recent Iranian year (March 2016-March 2017), close to 15 billion more than the production of the year before.

Ramzi said plans were underway to increase the local production of cigarettes to 50 billion this year.

He said that 14.8 billion cigarettes were produced in Iran during the first four months of the current Iranian year that started on March 21, up 37 percent on the production of the corresponding period of last year.

About 960,000 cigarettes were imported and 2.6 million were smuggled into the country during the same period, figures that were down 66 percent and 44 percent respectively year-on-year.